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Farming For A Better Future, page 116
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■ CHURCHES
■ PLANTATIONS
■ SCHOOLS
■ OTHER
(Left) A Page from the 1940 Census Records Enumerating Inmates at Camp C, “Alabama Institution for Negro Convicts” (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com)
Jackson County Poorhouse
On the outskirts of Scottsboro were two undesirable public facilities - to the west, the “poorhouse” turned tuberculosis hospital and to the east, an Alabama prison camp. Located just over one and a half miles from downtown is the eastern edge of Poorhouse Mountain, aptly named. In the early 20th century, the County Farm was where Jackson County would house citizens that were unable to pay their own way in life for various reasons. Most counties had an institution for this purpose, sometimes called an “alms house,” “poor house,” or farm because people housed here would work on a farm to provide for themselves and pay for their boarding. On the census records, the residents were referred to as “inmates.” While not strictly for people of color, due to institutionalized racial discrimination and the overall disadvantages imposed on people of color, these county farms were often populated with African Americans.
Prison Camp "C"
To the northeast of Scottsboro, along U.S. 72, was one of the several Alabama state prison camps. This Jackson County facility was denoted as “Camp C” in both prison records and on the USGS maps from 1947. The prison camps were not strictly for African American men, however, those in North Alabama were mostly populated with men of color and some were exclusively segregated units. The Scottsboro camp was exclusively for convicts of color as illustrated by the 1940 census which labels the institution the “Camp Scottsboro Alabama Institution for Negro Convicts.”
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